Yvonne Strahovski Interview

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'I had a body paint artist, Rodrigo from Costa Rica, who was kind enough to bring his mother along to try and make me feel more comfortable about the fact that I had a straight male body paint artist.'
-Yvonne Strahovski

It’s been five years since Yvonne Strahovski first appeared as the sexy spy Sarah Walker on NBC’s cult favorite Chuck, and after its bittersweet finale earlier this year, the sparkling Aussie export is ready to move on. She'll appear in next fall’s highly anticipated Seth Rogen comedy My Mother’s Curse, but first we get to see a new side of her in a racy SoBe ad campaign in the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition that features the self-described tomboy covered in nothing more than a bucket’s worth of paint. Here, she discusses moving on from Chuck, what it’s like having a complete stranger use your body as a canvas, and why men should never, ever shave their chest hair.

Congratulations on Chuck. Are you sad that it’s over, or excited to move on?

The end was very bittersweet, but I think we’re all excited to move on. There were a lot of tears on the last day of shooting, and I think I was the most pathetic one, although Zach [Levi] was in close contention with me. But it is exciting to move on. It finished at the right time. I think five years is a great run, especially in this day and age when you see so many shows go up and survive less than six episodes. Given that we were always on the bubble, it’s a great victory shared amongst the cast, crew and fans — especially the fans, because they were the ones that got us there. Talk to me about My Mother’s Curse, your upcoming comedy with Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand.

It was really exciting! I auditioned for that and got it, and it was great working with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen. I feel lucky that I got to work with some of the big legends in town.

What was it like working with Seth Rogen?

His laugh is the greatest thing ever. It’s so unique! He was very chill, and the dynamic between Barbra and Seth was great. I’m excited to see what they’re like on-screen. It’s a very cool combo.

Why do you think so many Australians have found success in Hollywood?

I think most of us come from a training background, so we studied it, and we have a real sense of the art of it, and most of us are trained to do an American accent, which is something you definitely need. I think, especially for males, they tend to be quite rugged and scruffy, and I think the industry here likes that kind of energy for their leading men.

Let’s talk about the photoshoot you did with SoBe that appears in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

SoBe approached us, and I was immediately interested because I’m a fan of their zero-calorie drinks, and I knew about Ashley Greene’s campaign, and I loved those photographs. I had never done anything like this before, so it was the body painting aspect that got me interested in the first place.

Was it awkward having a complete stranger paint your naked body?

It was a little. I woke up at midnight; that was my call time. And I had a body paint artist, Rodrigo from Costa Rica, who was kind enough to bring his mother along to try and make me feel more comfortable about the fact that I had a straight male body paint artist, and she didn’t speak any English, so that was pretty funny. You sort of get used to it after that many hours. You sort of think, "Who cares?" and it looks so real you feel covered anyway. I really love the ways the photos turned out.

How did your parents react?

They were really cool, actually! They thought it was a great idea, and they really loved the photos.